Which 'Chicago P.D.' Star Returns After a Short Absence?
Benjamin Levy Aguilar, LaRoyce Hawkins
He’s back! Tonight, Chicago P.D. sees the return of Dante Torres (Benjamin Levy Aguilar) to the Intelligence Unit after a two-month furlough [the first three episodes of season 11] to care for his mother, and the first thing he wants to do is jump into a high-stakes drug trafficking case, involving Rafael Perez, the infamous head of a known drug trafficking organization who has been a target of law enforcement for eight years.
Even though Voight (Jason Beghe) has concerns about Torres putting himself undercover because of the danger he would face, Torres insists he can do the job.
“It’s something that he knows that he can tackle because it’s his world, he can do it, he’s the right man for the job. But he gets caught up in a relationship and some triggers from his past and stuff. It becomes a very, very complicated situation.”
The relationship he refers to is with Gloria (guest star Yara Martinez), Perez’s wife and that involvement is a definite no-no for an undercover police officer, but according to Aguilar, it’s something that Torres would be comfortable with.
“Growing up the way he grew up, he’s attracted to relationships that in a way are toxic and complicated,” he says. “I think there’s a lot of layers, though, to it. It’s the fact that she wants to get out of that world and that he’s done it. And the fact that he can protect her. And the fact that she reminds him of his own mother. Or of Mia (Sharlene Cruz), of people that want to leave that world. And, at the same time, she’s in this bad world and stuff that he was a part of, too. There’s a lot of it that attracts him.”
Related: Chicago P.D.'s Adam Ruzek Puts a Ring on Kim Burgess But Will There Be a Wedding This Season?
But Aguilar adds that he fights the attraction.
“He doesn’t even know if he would call it attraction,” he adds. “For him it comes out in a different way. But then once the vulnerability is there and the environment is there, they’re caught up with something unexpected.”
Photo by: Lori Allen/NBC
Also, during our chat, Aguilar talked about why Torres feels compelled to take on such a dangerous undercover assignment, why Torres took the leave of absence, what it’s like on the Chicago P.D. set with all the cast exits, and more.
Would you describe Torres as an adrenaline junkie? Is that why he wants to take on this dangerous assignment? Even Voight is going, “Well, maybe not.”
I think he wouldn’t call himself that, but I think deep down he is that. I think he lives for that because it’s like when you’re growing up and all you know is stressful situations and traumatic situations, you don’t even know what it’s like to just be at peace. You live life that way and that’s your normal. For him, I guess, you could say he’s an adrenaline junkie because he’s just always there, very intense.
He’s also the newest member of the team. Is there also this need to prove himself? Because Intelligence is really a very special unit to be a part of.
I think for him it’s more about proving things to himself than to anyone else. He’s not a people pleaser in that sense. He doesn’t need anyone’s approval. He does his own thing, breaks his own rules. I think whatever he needs to prove is to himself and to the people that hurt him when he was younger. So, there’s not a lot of concern for him as to what they think about him.
Photo by: Lori Allen/NBC
Torres grew up in a really rough neighborhood. But his mother kept him on the straight and narrow; he didn’t end up a criminal. Now he took time off to take care of her. Is he trying to pay back his mom for all the good she did for him?
I don’t think he sees it that way. I don’t think he’s trying to pay back his mom for the way she treated him. He became the man of the house when he was 14 years old and that creates a very interesting relationship between mother and son. They kind of become like a couple, like husband and wife in a way. Not in a weird way, but just in the dynamic of him putting food on the table, too, and him caring for her and then being the strong person that she can rely on instead of the other way around where normally the mother is the strong one for the child. I think in this relationship, he’s the strong one for his mother. I think that’s all he knows. He loves his mother, she’s an angel for him. If she needs him or if she is in need of help or health issues, he will drop anything to be with her.
Related: Six Spoilers for the Chicago P.D. Season 11 Premiere
As an actor when you’re playing a character and then your character goes undercover and they’re playing a different character how challenging is that? Especially if you’re doing both parts in one day.
That’s a really good question. It’s like you’re three times removed from yourself. I think it’s mostly about being centered and at that point feeling that you are the character, Torres at that point, for example. There’s no separation anymore between you and Torres, at least not in that moment when you’re on set. So, then you just have to worry about going undercover as Torres. You forget about Benjamin because Benjamin is Torres.
Related: How Chicago P.D. Is Preparing for Tracy Spiridakos' Exit
With these Chicago shows, everybody keeps coming and going. What’s that like on the set with losing Jesse Lee Soffer last season and this is the last season for Tracy Spiridakos.
Everyone is so nice on this set and everyone really gets along. It’s sad to see Tracy leave. It was very sad to see Jesse leave. But we’re in good spirits doing our best and welcoming whoever comes next, which is going to be exciting, as well.
It makes it more like real life, because in a real job people do come and go. On TV people stay forever, but that’s not necessarily realistic.
Very true, yeah. There’s stages of life, right?
Chicago P.D. airs Wednesday nights at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.
